


cupid's red arrows

by kerbecos



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cupid AU, Cupid Keith, Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Human Lance (Voltron), I'm Bad At Summaries, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), keith goes to earth, ooc because sometimes fanon is more accurate than canon, this is a mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-06-22 12:58:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15582507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerbecos/pseuds/kerbecos
Summary: "As ironic as it sounds, I don't believe in love." Keith says, Lance lifts an eyebrow as a response "I don't believe that it will happen to me because that would be... weird. I believe it lives around me and now, somehow, you made it reach me."where keith is a cupid who fell in love with his assigned human, lance





	1. chapter one

When you're born, you're assigned to a cupid. It starts as innocent love, the admiration a baby has for simple things such as cartoons - and that's why, sometimes, you still feel love for the things you used to enjoy as a baby. The arrows from that innocent love cupid had hit you, and if the love and adoration stick with you forever then you were hit with the arrows of enternal admiration.

 

Of course, when you're a baby it's only admiration. As the years go by and so do the phases of life, you get assigned to cupids. Maybe you still remember your first crush, which was when you were hit with your first love arrow, an innocent love. The arrows start as innocent and the cupids gradually get more and different. There are the innocent, eternal, infatuating, adoration and sexual arrows.

 

And that's how Keith got himself into this.

 

When his assigned human turned 18 he was assigned to him. As soon as he got out of the pod he appeared in he was immedeatly assigned to Lance. He remembers being face-to-face with the blue-eyed teenager (or young adult?) without the other boy realising it. It was exactly 2 years and 45 days ago when he saw Lance for the first time, and since then the human boy became part of his life.

 

Keith looked at the sun that was starting to rise, the rays spreading through the tall buildings in the city. Everything was peaceful and quiet, a few cars could be heard roaming through the streets and young lovers could be felt sharing sweet nothings in the darkness of their rooms, tangled in sheets and each other. His heart was warm, thinking about all the things that could be happening around the world during that peaceful moment, but it was all calm and quiet around there.

 

He sighed and got up with a content smile on his face. Keith jumped from roof to roof trying to spot his friend who had probably been watching her assigned human all night. The positive thing is that cupids don't need to sleep, so it was completely fine to stay up all night stressing over a cryptid-like human.

 

Keith secured his arrow bag and bow over his shoulder so it didn't fall when he jumped. He recognized the green sweater on the opposite building of another one with a single window that let light out. He chuckled and stopped jumping, walking to where Pidge was, tapping her foot on the dark red roof tiles.

 

"Hey there." he said, startling his friend which resulted in a glare from the other cupid.

 

"Hey Keith." his co-worker, Pidge, greeted him as he sat next to her on a roof. She was sitting with her legs crossed, her green sweater slipping off her right shoulder as she watched her assigned human "Didn't know you were coming to watch my miserable situation tonight.

 

"'Oh Pidge," he started, sitting down next to his friend "I will always be here for your stressful times with..." Keith trailed off, not knowing the name of the boy despite being told so many times.

 

"Phillip." she said, looking at Keith "His name is Phillip. And Phillip likes to make my work difficult."

 

"Oh come on! Poor guy, probably doesn't even know how to cut bread properly and you want him to get out of the room." He said, receiving a chuckle from his friend "Have you tried making him falling in love with some character?"

 

"I feel tempted, but that would be too mean." she said, sighing "I don't understand this, how am I going to make him fall in love with someone if all he does is stay up in his room?"

 

Keith looked at the boy who probably has not moved from his seat since many hours ago. He was playing a weird game with some blocks, he didn't understand the point of it or the purpose but people seemed to have fun with it. Poor Pidge though, she had no luck when it came to him falling in love.

 

"Talk with someone to make him get out nd go to a convention or something. Take him to a bar, hook up with a random someone - anything that gets you out of your misery" Keith said, mocking his friend.

 

"Gah! I'm not that mean!" Pidge said "If it happens it has to be sweet like candy. I'll figure something out, maybe try to get some motivational arrows for free."

 

"They cost so much, how would you get them for free?"

 

"Please." She said, looking cocky "It's me we're talking about. I made Shiro eat a pop tart by telling him it was made of vegetables."

 

Keith chuckles at his friend and her persuasion methods. As much as he tried to fight it, Pidge would be the best at getting the impossible just by saying simple words. Keith on the contrary would stutter and mess it up, maybe get a lollipop out of pity (which was a pretty good win).

 

Motivational arrows weren't actually needed for the job. The usual arrows you can get for free, some even make their own since the method it's simple. "Motivational Arrows" are used when the person doesn't leave the house or doesn't want to do anything that actually makes them go through the path of meeting someone. The thoughts that come with those arrows are not controlled, some leave the house and others set leaving their own country as a goal. Maybe their destiny is there, maybe is not.

 

Lance was a sociable person, he liked to get out of the house but also spend time with his family. Keith was well-guided and never had to purchase any other arrows besides the ones he found urgent.

 

Keith shrugged "Alright then. It's almost morning, Lance is waking up soon. I'll be going, good luck with that."

 

Pidge sighed, lifting her hand up as a way to say goodbye. Keith travelled to Lance's house through the roofs now painted with the soft colours as the sun rised. He sat on the roof right across from the boy's bedroom window. As the clock from one of the apartments under the cupid played at 7.30AM the curtains were pulled aside, revealing a tired Lance with messy hair but a wide smile on his face.

 

Lance yawned, waving to the pastry seller across the street. "Good morning."

 

Keith smiled fondly, looking at the boy "Good morning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it was so small
> 
> hope you liked it!


	2. chapter two

Keith always thought it was a bit weird, what he did everyday was no different than stalking someone. After all, he did go along with a stranger all day and somehow controlled the intensity of some of his fondness over something. He always thought what would happen if he stopped existing, if someone would control this stranger's feelings for him.

A stranger, but not to him, he realises after thinking about it. After all, Keith knows everything about Lance's life since he was about eighteen years old yet Lance doesn't know any about his - or about his existence. It was the other way around: Lance wasn't a stranger but Keith was definitely one. His head hurts just thinking about it, he doesn't want to stress out again.

He followed a few feet behind Lance as he walked through the crowd of people at the mall. Even if people wouldn't feel him bumping into them, he still made sure not to do it. He doesn't know why he did that, maybe because he had a human appearance and wanted to act as such. But he was no human, there was no need. It's another one of the things he often thinks about - if they are not humans then why do they look like such? They had a heart, brain, everything to be human. Something doesn't feel quite right.

Keith shakes it off, carefully placing a wallet inside the pocket of an old lady who forgot about it. He hopes it was hers, it was on her table.

  
"Excuse me," someone approaches Lance, a little girl "could you please tie my shoe?"

Lance gives her a warm smile, making Keith's heart beat faster. There are moments he doesn't need to intervene - the other boy is genuinely kind. He only controls some of Lance's feelings, which means not following the protocol. It doesn't feel good to constantly control someone's feelings. It's not genuine.

As he watches Lance tie the little girl's shoe and send her off to her mother who had been waiting for her, worried to where her daughter could be, he remembers to meet with Pidge as soon as he can. She was the one he confided his deep dark secret in (" _Stop calling it **deep dark secret** ,_" she often says " _love is a pink or red colour, why do you think we have that ridiculous shade on our arrows?_ "), Shiro as well, but he was a busy man and sometimes he needed to talk about his feelings for six minutes straight when he filled his stomach with rose water.

Lance gets in the car, Keith following behind him. He appeared on the back seat, watching as he put on the seatbelt and started driving. He looked at Lance's right hand resting on the gear. He reached for it, the desire to intertwine his fingers with his. Keith pulls his hand back, his chest giving out and uncomfortable feelings he didn't know how to describe. All Lance would feel, if Keith touched, would be a small coldness in his hand. As for Keith, he wouldn't feel anything. He can touch whoever he wants, he can bump into whoever he bumps, but there won't be a feeling. It's like he's trying to feel the air.

And that empty feeling is what stops him from holding Lance's hand.

***

The door opens as Keith approaches it. The familiar white room makes it difficult for him to see. Whoever decided to make an all white room with this clarity can see places that are not as clear as this. Break their aesthetic, he likes revenge sometimes.  _It would be fair_ , he thinks.

Pidge is sitting on the table, her feet resting on the chair. Today she is wearing small pigtails that somehow make her look even more younger, but it still looks good. Her small wings move slightly as she scrolls through something on the small device on her lap, thick books next to her. Keith considers scaring her but last time that resulted on a broken nose -  _his_  broken nose. Sometimes you just don't want to be hit with an elbow by a fourteen year old lookalike.

"Sit like a normal being, gremlin." he says, sitting right next to her.

"Define normal." she remarks, looking up from the screen through her round glasses "I'm looking for solutions to take someone off of their room."

"What happened to your Phillip dude?"

"My Phillip dude," she chuckles "I asked Joe to hit him with a sleeping arrow. Tomorrow there's no school so he will be sleeping for ten hours."

She quickly goes back to her searching.

"Isn't that a bit... cruel?"

" _Cruel?!_ " Pidge shouts and pinches her nosebridge "Cruel is making it difficult to do my job, or my purpose of existence. I need a small break. It's not his fault but at the same time I can't control his social life. Dude needs to stop looking at so many anime titties."

Keith laughs, looking at his sneakers. This is the moment where he remembers his whole day. Well, his and Lance's. Today went for his part-time at the flower shop right after school. After he arrived there was only homework and Hunk, who came over to help Lance cook his dinner during exam week and hang out with him for a little bit. Keith likes hunk, he's nice and smells like sunshine - also looks like sunshine, the guy is a whole piece of happiness.

"How was with Lance today?" Pidge asked "Pink and red filling your heart again?"

Keith gives her a small smile "It was... fine." he says "I wanted to hold his hand and got bummed that I couldn't."

"I like how you say that you want to hold his hand." Pidge says "It's specifically his, not just a hand, it's Lance's hand."

That's because nothing seems more appealing. He doesn't need constant kisses or cuddling while some stupid cartoon is on TV and one of them is asleep. Nothing would make him happier than holding Lance's hand jut for five seconds. To have their fingers intertwined, to know how it would feel to have him show a feeling and for that feeling to be the same one. He doesn't want to be loved by anyone else, he wants to be loved by Lance. But technically Keith doesn't exist, so that would be a factor that kept them apart. A major one. He's not obsessed, he pretty much accepts it will never happen and is fine with it - as much sadness as the reality of the situation gives him he's just happy he can... like someone like Lance, and he likes to express that sometimes. It makes him happy.

"The situation really bothers me."

"What situation?"

"You and Lance." she specifies "This whole thing about you being in love with him. I feel like there is nothing I can do to make it better."

"Yeah..." he looks down "I'm pretty used to it."

"Well, you shouldn't have to be."

Then it's all silent. Pidge is now laying down on the table with the screen of the device lit up next to her and her eyes closed. Maybe she was lost in her thoughts like Keith who either thinks too much or not enough. This time he's thinking too much.

"How crazy would it be if we could go into the human world as full-on humans?" Keith blurts out, regretting as soon as Pidge opens her brown eyes "That would be very... insane."

"Yeah, insane." She says, her voice giving out the action going on in her brain " _Very_  insane.  _Really insane._ "

Keith lifts up an eyebrow "Indeed insane?" he tries to complete, watching as she collects the books and the small tablet with a rush he doesn't usually see "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere, I'll meet you tomorrow when we're done with our things."

"But you'll need to be with Phillip?" Keith says louder, she is now going past the door.

"I'll hit him with another sleeping thing!" she says and the door closes behind her.

 _So now I'm alone_ , Keith thinks,  _great_.

Stupid gremlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GET THEM DRUNK ON RoOoOoOoOoSE WATER


	3. chapter three

As far as he knows, Pidge was obviously up to something. The 'next day' she mentioned became 'sometimes in the next days'. He feels suspicious, tried to take a look at what she was working on and know what triggered those series of thoughts during their conversation. She still spends time with Phillip, got him to leave the house for a few days to go on a camping trip with his friends and some other group - which means she has been going around frantic with books and articles she found somewhere whenever she is free. Keith watches the whole thing that has been going around for days, Pidge forbid him to enter her room after he caught a glimpse of a board with documents and pictures.

And now he's watching her marking copying some phrases while it's night out there and everyone is asleep. Her so secret project keeps her up, even though they don't need to actually sleep, and Keith swears she will soon explode with all the information about whatever is happening. He decides to leave her alone in the library and quietly goes away, leaving to walk around town.

"Hey," says Shiro who had been standing outside "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Pidge has been going around for days, she refused the gummy worms I got for her - that's not like her." Shiro says, concerned "Is she okay?"

"As far as I know, yes." Keith says, both of them start walking through the corridor "She has been researching about something, almost killed me when I tried to see it. Just let her be, you know how it is."

"Yes... And how have you been? I haven't seen you in two days."

"I've been normal." Keith shrugs "Going to take a walk around town, I have nothing better to do."

"Do you want to go to the control room a little?"

Keith nods and they keep walking. Shiro was wearing his uniform, the familiar black and white shirt always gave him a serious and professional look - which he was, ther'es no doubt. Sometimes he wore it even if it wasn't required, like now.

They entered the control room where everyone's names were displayed. Some things had to be controlled and checked, to make sure the cupids were making a good job and not ruining the other's life. So far Keith's work has been praised, probably because he managed to keep Lance's balance so he keeps his emotions at a steady level. There were some he couldn't control - whenever he couldn't decide what something made him feel that's when Keith came in. The lights next to everyone's names that were lit up meant they were awake, Lance's was on. Keith furrows his eyebrows - wasn't he supposed to be asleep? What is he doing up? What if something happened?

"I need to go." Keith says, walking away from the room.

"Wh-oh. Well, come whenever you want!" Shiro shouts.

Keith jumps out the door and suddenly he's in the human world. He lands on his feet on top of the familiar building. It was a hot night, probably the reason why Lance was awake right now. He's pretty sure that when he left Lance had been sleeping or at least it looked like it. _I should get something to warn me like Pidge did,_ he thinks while flying to Lance's bedroom window, _for times like these._

Lance is not in his bedroom but the window is open. There is a light on the corridor, he decides to enter. His feet step inside the familiar room, Lance's bed is undone and his slippers are nowhere to be seen. Keith goes to the corridor and hears small sounds coming from the kitchen where the light is on. He decides to check on it, maybe he could help in something. In his way.

Even if sound doesn't matter because lance won't be able to hear it he decides to take small quiet steps. Keith feels once again like he spies on him and that makes him feel like an intrudor even if it's part of his job (purpose of existence?). He hears sobbing and his chest aches, he clenches his fist as a way to control himself. He tries to reach for his happiness arrows until he realizes he forgot the pack at home.

Keith looks into the kitchen where Lance is sitting down with a cup of water in front of him and pastries in a dish. He's crying, Keith notices, and he doesn't know why Lance is crying. He feels bad for forgetting his arrows, for not being there when Lance needed them. He wants to ask him why but it wouldn't be heard. The cupid approaches the boy and looks at the plate, noticing the familiar cuban pastries Lance had baked for his friends earlier.

_He misses home._

It's what Keith notices.

_He really misses home._

Considering he hasn't seen his family properly in the last five years it's only natural that he feels homesick. Moved to San Francisco after he got accepted into Altea University to get an astrophysics degree right after attending a private high school that he got in by recruitment, which meant no fees and hasn't been back since. He has a strong bond with his family, one that Keith has never seen before.

Keith kneels in front of him, reaching for his hand. Lance quickly pulls it away to clean his tears and warm it. Keith feels a thing in his pocket and reaches for it, it's a small sleeping arrow that Pidge had gotten for him a while ago. He looks at Lance and then the arrow, kissing his hand that was covering his mouth and hugging him. Signal of shivers invade Lance's skin and he lets out a shaky breath because of the sudden cold feeling. Keith tightens his grip around him desperate of a feeling, a contact, something that helps take Lance out of his pain. He pulls away nad takes in the features of his face, his beautiful blue eyes filled with water.

Keith takes the tiny arrow out of the safety box and pokes Lance's skin with it. He watches it disappear and the boy calming down. Keith stands up and takes two steps to the left as Lance gets up to go to sleep. Lance goes to the room and lays in bed, instantly falling asleep.

The cupid arranges the sheets to cover Lance more. He looks at him one last time before closing the window and leaving. He feels disappointed with himself.

***

As soon as he arrived he was being thrown to the ground like Pidge. Keith groans as a response and looks at her (whose hair has definetly been through something). Stupid gremlin.

"What do you want?" Keith asks as they get up, she jumps with a smile on her face "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I've been preparing something for you!" she grabs his arm and rushes through the corridors until the dorms "I've been thinking about it since our conversation-"

"-what is happening-"

"-and it bothered me so much, you have no idea! I've been doing research for days and wanted to get it done before going on the camping thing-" which meant she would be in a different area "-and you're really gonna like it."

They stop in front of her room and Keith tries to regain his breathing. He looks at her with an eyebrow lifted.

"Pidge just tell me what you want."

"What I mean is." She opens the door "I found a way for you to go into the human world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> klancers and steven yeun we have been released


End file.
